MILWAUKEE — For seven minutes in the third inning of Monday’s game, Jake Bauers battled Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The Brewers first baseman seemed to foul off everything, forcing his opponent to throw 12 pitches before drawing a walk to load the bases. But when he reflected on the confrontation a couple of hours later, Bauers said he got so locked in that it felt like the whole exchange lasted maybe 30 seconds.
“There are certain times on a baseball field that you get so locked in that you lose yourself a little bit,” he recalled. “You kind of forget what’s going on around you. You’re so focused on what’s happening that it’s all there is.”
“That was a big league at-bat,” shortstop Cooper Pratt added.
On a night that featured many patient at-bats by the Brewers, no hitter exemplified their tenacious approach better than Bauers, whose walk set up a two-run single from the next batter, Christian Yelich. Thanks to those two and, of course, William Contreras, the Brewers outshone the Dodgers to win 7-4 at American Family Field and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the NLCS.
"The whole team right now really feels like they're going through a good moment," Contreras said. "(But) keep going. The goal is not to think about where we're at."
After losing both games in Milwaukee, the two-time defending World Series winners must now win four of the next five games to return to baseball's biggest stage. The Brewers, meanwhile, are just two wins away from advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1982.
They may often be overlooked, but this was a 103-win Brewers team that’s reached the playoffs eight of the past nine seasons. If anyone can unseat the Dodgers, it’s them.
“I respect the Dodgers a great deal,” said Brewers manager Pat Murphy. “That's all there is to it. They're arguably one of the best teams ever put together. They're a great team.”
“And I'm not going to think about anything but the next game. That's it.”
With Yamamoto starting for the Dodgers, the visitors had reason to hope they’d head back home with the series tied. In 11 career playoff appearances entering Game 2, the right-hander had a 2.14 ERA and the Dodgers were 10-1 when he pitched.
But the Brewers pushed Yamamoto’s pitch count from the beginning, and last year's World Series MVP was out of the game after just 2.2 innings, having allowed three runs on 75 pitches.
“He just didn't have it tonight, which is very rare,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged.
But while Bauers and Yelich should be celebrated, the offensive star in this game was clearly Contreras. In the first, he drove home Brice Turang with a single. In the fifth, he tied the game with a no-doubt home run to centre. And in the sixth, he drove in the winning run with another single.
“He's the fire of our team,” said Yelich. “He likes the big moments. We've got all the confidence in the world in him when he's out there, whether that's behind the plate or at the plate. It's been fun to watch this postseason, and we’re looking forward to more.”
Games like this elevate players to new levels of stardom, and new levels of fanfare. Between innings here in Milwaukee, they show the likes of Eric Thames and Manny Pina on the scoreboard with the caption ‘Brewers legend.’ If that’s the threshold for legend status, Contreras has already reached it.
“This kid wants it,” Murphy said. “He doesn't believe in days off. He doesn't believe in being injured. He played one year with a broken hand. And he wants to excel."
“He's underrated,” Murphy continued. “Whatever people think about him, he's underrated. He's that good.”
And when Milwaukee loses? What's Contreras like then?
“You don’t want to be next to him,” reliever Abner Uribe said with a smile.
While starter Logan Henderson wasn’t especially effective, the Milwaukee bullpen recorded more outs than their starter for the second consecutive day. This time, it was Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Uribe and Aaron Ashby who combined for five perfect innings.
Those Brewers relievers stifled a Dodgers offence that has only one extra-base hit through two games. Shohei Ohtani looks lost at the plate, Will Smith still can’t get a ball to drop in and Teoscar Hernandez only managed a sacrifice fly upon being promoted to the No. 3 spot in the order.
“I don't have an answer why,” Roberts said. “I know that they've got good arms; so do we. I think they're just finding ways to win pitches better than we are.”
So while the Brewers got a superstar performance from Contreras, the Dodgers have nothing to match. Set aside payroll, market size and everything else: series like this often come down to which superstars perform and which ones sputter.
The Dodgers’ best players simply aren’t doing enough right now. For their run as baseball’s champions to continue, that’ll have to change immediately.
After Game 2, the teams prepared to fly across the country to Los Angeles, where Robert Gasser’s slated to face Blake Snell when the series resumes Wednesday. For the Dodgers, the pressure’s on. For the Brewers, it’s been building to this for years.
“I mean, it’s big,” Pratt said. “Gotta win two more, though.”
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